SABC will not show Springbok matches because of Supersport ‘restrictions’

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) announced that it will not broadcast the upcoming Springbok Rugby inbound tour matches – most notably the British and Irish Lions tour – because of the rights restrictions imposed by Supersport.

SABC DECIDES NOT TO BROADCAST SPRINGBOK MATCHES

The public broadcaster said Springbok matches are defined as national sporting events by ICASA and that free-to-air broadcaster – such as the SABC – are mandated by the regulator to make these events available to the public.

However, the SABC is not happy with Supersport’s decision to limit its coverage of the inbound tour matches to its “terrestrial free to air television platforms” – SABC 1, 2 and 3.

“This means that the broadcast and streaming of the games on SABC channels via other platforms such as Openview and via mobile and OTT, is prohibited by Supersport,” said the public broadcaster in a statement on Friday, 18 June.

Therefore, the public broadcaster – refusing to bow to Supersport’s will – has decided not to show the matches. “The SABC believes that the viability of the new SABC Sports channel is dependent on its simultaneous distribution via several platforms, including DTT, OpenView and TelkomOne. The Supersport restrictions would make this impossible.”

SUBLICENSING LIMITATIONS ARE ANTI-COMPETIVE, SAYS THE BROADCASTER

The broadcaster said it raised the issue of the imposition of unfair sublicensing conditions “by the dominant player” as one of the key issues it was facing, which the broadcaster says ICASA failed to deal with in its new Sports Rights regulations.

“The SABC maintains that Supersport-imposed sublicesnsing restrictions are prejudicial to the SABC… as they limit the reach of the games to platforms decided upon by Supersport,” said the broadcaster.

“These restrictions go against the spirit of the current broadcasting regulations that seek to ensure that all South Africans can access South African national sporting events, regardless of the platform or channel.”

The broadcaster said that Supersport refused to accept its request to remove the “restrictive clauses” and once more reiterated that an agreement to display the matches on SABC platforms could not be reached.

“It is the SABC’s view that attempting to place sublicensing limitations on which platforms SABC can broadcast or stream content is anti-competitive and directly undermines the public broadcaster’s mandate to provide free access to national sporting events to all South Africans.”